Rail Timetabling Effects on Capacity, Punctuality and Generalised Journey Time

In Britain, Generalised Journey Time (GJT) has been a key indicator of railway-related service offerings, enabling the comparison of rail services with other transport modes, and supporting rail passenger demand forecast. However, the current method of calculating GJT is heavily focussed on the information provided by a planned timetable. We propose a new Perceived Generalised Journey Time (PGJT) concept, which considers the crowdedness and punctuality of the service and their impact on a passenger's journey explicitly. The new PGJT function provides a different reflection on the actual journey experienced by railway passengers, bridging the gap between the planned timetable and actual railway operation. A case study of two selected rail lines in West Yorkshire demonstrates innovative visualisation of the passengers' actual journey experience based on application of the new PGJT function with open-source data. The model and visualisation methods are highly transferrable for other cities to aid rail operators' decision-making process for effective service improvements.